We Live and Work In Space

Big News: First Commercial Crew Test Flights to ISS in 2017

At NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), there was held a press conference with SpaceX, Boeing, and their mutual customer, discussing the status of the Commercial Crew program. To put it shortly, both companies plan on being able to fly crew to ISS in 2017. This is great progress!

Here is an interesting quote from NASA administrator Charlie Bolden:

“I don’t ever want to write another check to Roscosmos”

As I also monitor terrestrial events while I keep watch on the stars, a great worry for me is our rapid slide back to Cold War with Russia. In that light, Bolden’s comment is very telling from a diplomatic point-of-view. Russia recently re-nationalized their space industry, so to say that we no longer want to coordinate with Roscosmos is virtually the same as saying that we wish to stop engaging Russia’s space program. That is really bigger news than even sending commercial crews to the space station we share with them, though it may not receive nearly so much press.